Eve Arnold inspired photos

Autumn Themed Shoot

Coca-cola Advertising Photos

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Christmas Market Documentary Photos

Final Portrait Photos

Documentary Photos – Street Style

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Final Evaluation

I have learnt a lot from this unit about what makes a self portrait and how to create one that describes who you are. At the beginning, I had no idea what a self portrait could be and how you would produce an image you created from in front of the camera instead of behind it. I also think I learnt a lot about what creates mood in photos, such as lighting and poses, although different things can give off different impressions for each person looking at the photos. For example, if the lighting is dull and low saturated, I get the impression that the person is depressed, unhappy or unwell, whereas other people may see this differently. I learnt a lot about how to add mood into my own self portraits and how to capture my personality and interests in a photo. I decided to make a blog for this unit so that I could do blog posts for everything I did and I could document my learning process. I really enjoyed doing this, and I am very happy with how it turned out. I think this made documenting my work very easy and it was a good way to keep up to date with what I was doing.

During the first week of this unit, I was asked to take my first self portrait based on my personality, interests, how I see myself and how other people see me. I decided that because I have a strong interest in makeup and care about my appearance, I would shoot a series of images using my iPhone camera of myself applying makeup, brushing my hair and putting on perfume. I then decided to add a pink hue over the images to show that I am very girly which I think worked well. I think these photos were good at showing who I am, and I was very happy with the way they turned out.

I have really enjoyed watching the documentaries about other photographer’s self portraits because I found it interesting to see how they came up with their ideas and how the shot their self portraits and controlled their photoshoots. Watching these videos gave me a lot of ideas and taught me how you can control how your photos turn out from infant of the camera by directing the person taking the images and telling them exactly what you want, as well as looking at the photos after every few shots to give feedback and directions on what could be different. The notes I made about these documentaries were very helpful throughout the unit, as I kept looking back to them to think about things I needed to include in my own work and ways to take my photos.

After this, I thought of 10 nouns, 10 adjectives and 10 verbs that describe myself. I found this very helpful when doing my final portraits because I could look at it and think about what kind of personality I have and what I wanted to portray in my photos. I think each one describes me well and is honest.

When I did the ‘three random strangers made my portrait’ task, I was at first very nervous about asking people I didn’t know to take a photo of me and about having to direct them on how to take it. After the first photo, I realised it was quite easy as long as you was clear about what you wanted and told the person taking your photo what you wanted it to look like. I was happy with the photos I got and I also learnt a lot about what different people thought made a good portrait. I found it quite easy to direct them during the process of this task, and I am very happy with the way it went and the knowledge I gained.

My next task was to find anyone to take my portrait for me, so I asked a friend to take mine. I did some research on Pinterest to get some ideas for my photos, and I went outside with my friend to shoot. During the photoshoot, I was still learning about how to control the shoot from in front of the lens, however I kept looking at the photos and giving her instructions on what kinds of angles or lighting I wanted, or how zoomed in I wanted the photos to be. After we shot the photos, I edited them all and made a blog post on what I did during the shoot and posted the photos.

I also got the opportunity to take someone else’s portrait for them. I think this taught me about how instructing your photographer and telling them what you want the photos to look like is very effective when clear, however it can be very confusing for the person taking the photos if you’re not sure what you want them to look like going into the shoot. After this, I made sure that I knew exactly what I wanted when going to shoot so that my photographer knew what they were doing and I could get shoots done more quickly and easily.

I then went on to doing some more research on self portraits so that I could get some inspiration on how I wanted my final photos to look and what I wanted to focus on. I then did my plan and looked back at the blog post I did about words that describe me. I decided I wanted my photos to show that I am into makeup and that I am very girly, so for my final shoot I wore lots of makeup and got dressed up. I had a friend take my photos for me, and I used all the skills I had learnt on how to control shoots and how different colours and poses can affect mood and the overall effect during the shoot and editing of my portraits. I chose one final image to print out and frame as my final piece for the unit. I am very happy with the photo I chose because I think it shows who I am very well, and I also think that it is the best one out of all the final images I produced. I wrote an evaluation on the shoot and final images which is also on my blog.

If I could do this unit again, I don’t think I would change anything about it. This is because I learnt so much and defiantly expanded my knowledge on portrait photography and how to show an audience what you want to portray. I learn a lot about how to show what you feel you are, such as how to show that you’re a happy person by using bright/white colours in your work and making sure the person is smiling. I think the editing was also an important process when doing self portraits so that you can get the right tones in the photos to show who you are and what traits you have, such as being depressed, angry, loved or happy.

I chose to document all of my work on a blog because I thought it would be a creative way to show all my work, and I also thought it would be an easy way to keep on track of my work and to show my work. I am very glad I did this because it defiantly helped me keep up to date and to see what I needed to do. It also helped me when planning and shooting my final photos because I could look back at what I had done and how I described myself. Also, being able to easily find my notes and links to the documentaries I watched at the beginning helped me throughout the whole unit because I could get more inspiration and ideas on how to control the shoots and how to show different moods and interests. I really enjoyed learning about how to create my own blog and updating it with my work.

This unit has been very informative to me and taught me a lot of skills that I will need to keep producing good portraits in the future. I really enjoyed creating my final self portraits, and although I thought I would dislike it, I loved going out and asking people to take photos of me and directing others on how to take a good portrait. This taught me a lot about how to explain what you want a portrait to look like and how to direct a shoot, but it also gave me a lot of confidence and taught me some good communication skills. I think this unit has been very successful and I am very happy with the work I produced and the new skills I have gained.

Overall, I am very happy with this unit and I feel that I have learnt a lot and broadened my knowledge and skills on portrait photography and how to create my own self portraits. At the beginning of the unit I was very unsure on how it would work and what I was going to do for my final portrait, however it ended up being very easy because of everything I learnt along the way.

Final Self Portrait Evaluation

I am very happy with how my final portraits turned out and I think they all stand out and portray myself the way I wanted. I think that they all show that I am a confident person and that I am very interested in makeup and fashion. Also, I think they show that I am quite a nice, happy person because of the warm tones in the photos. I am very happy with how my photos turned out, and I think that they all stand out well.

When I was shooting my photos, I kept looking back at my research to get some ideas on poses I wanted to do. I shot all my photos on my own camera which was an Olympus PEN E-PL1 with the Olympus Digital 14-42mm lens. For lighting I just used natural lighting and the flash on the camera. I asked a friend to take my photos for me, and after every few shots I looked at the photos and directed her on things that I wanted to be different and how she could change them. For example, I didn’t like the angle some of the photos were shot at, so I told her to hold the camera higher up or further away. After all my photos had been taken, I chose my favourite ones to edit on Lightroom. I edited the lighting to make it brighter and make the photo have a warm tone. I did this to show that I am generally a happy, cheery and caring person. I then went on Photoshop to perfect my skin because I thought this looked more professional. I did this using the clone stamp. Also, I think this shows that I am quite fussy with my work looking as perfect and professional as possible. After this, I printed out my favourite photo which was the landscape image where I am looking down and framed it.

I chose the landscape photo of myself looking down as my final photo because I like the way it shows my makeup and think it shows that I am interested in it and like to make an effort with my appearance. I think this photo also makes me look quite confident because of the way I am stood and my facial expression. I also like the white background because I think it makes myself stand out well and you can see the colour of my hair well.

My least favourite photo is the landscape one where I am looking into the camera lens because I think the way my head is slightly tilted and my facial expression makes me look more shy than I actually am. Although it’s warm toned which I like for the same reasons as the other photo,  I still think it makes me look like a more quieter person who’s not as confident or bubbly.

If I could change anything about my shoot and how my final photos turned out, I wouldn’t change much, however I might of made my photos a bit more saturated and brighter. Apart from this I am very happy with how my photos look and I think they show who I am and what I am interested in well.

Overall, I am very happy with my final self portraits and I think my final portrait portrays who I am very well and makes it clear that I am interested in makeup and fashion as well as showing that I am a happy and caring person. I think my final photo is very effective and stands out well. Also, I think it looks very professional due to the editing on Photoshop, and I think the frame makes it stand out even more.

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Final Self Portrait – Research

I did all of my research on Pinterest.com because I think this website is good to get inspiration from as it is very creative and there is some amazing work on there. I got a lot of inspiration from all the research I did, it inspired me to make all my photos coloured and not black and white, because although I liked a lot of the black and white photos, I think that the ones in colour looked happier and stood out more. The thing I got the most inspiration from was the kind of poses to do and what poses will show what I want to portray. I really like all the research I did and I am happy with the photos I found. I will keep looking to these images as I shoot and edit my own portraits to keep some ideas of poses in my head. I think my research inspired me a lot and gave me lots of ideas.

Link to my Pinterest board containing my research/inspiration:

Final Self Portrait Plan

For my final self portrait, I wanted to photograph myself as the person I want people to see me as and the way I want to be. I decided that I wanted my photos to be head-shots and not full length images, and I wanted them to be in colour when shooting. I will only have one final image at the end, however I will take many images so I have lots to chose my favourite from. I want to make myself look very glam and girly, with lots of makeup and my hair done because this is what I enjoy doing and I think it will show how girly I am as a person. For my clothes, I plan on wearing a plain black strapless dress because I think this will look classy and girly, and I will accessorise with a dominate choker which will add in some glamour and make the images stand out more. I want to do fairly dramatic makeup which I think will go well with the outfit, and I will either curl my hair or have it straight and sleek. I am going to ask my friend Chloe to take all of my photos, and while she does it I will keep asking her to think about the angle, lighting and what is in the shot. I am going to shoot all of my photos at home against a plain wall, however I may try some shots against some cream stripy wallpaper to see how that looks. I’m going to use natural lighting with the flash on the camera, and the camera I use will be my Olympus PEN E-PL1 with the Olympus Digital 14-42mm lens. I have got lots of inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram and I have a few ideas on what I want my final image to look like. I will edit all my photos on Lightroom to edit saturation, sharpness, etc. and Photoshop to edit my skin and other corrections that need doing in the photo. I am going to frame my final image.

I want my photo to be quite light and in colour because I think this will show my personality well, and I plan on wearing dramatic makeup and a more ‘dressy’ outfit to show that I am very girly and like to be fashionable and always make an effort with my appearance. I don’t want my photos to be black and white because I think I am quite a colourful person and the image wouldn’t have the same effect. I don’t want my images to be extremely vibrant, and I want them to look quite soft and delicate but for them to still have a bit of colour showing through. I think my photos will represent my personality well, but will also show the way I would like to look.

Overall, I am very excited about this shoot and I feel confident that I will be able to control the shoot from in front of the camera using the skills I have learnt in this module. I think my final images will turn out well if everything goes to plan.